Tek it To Dem! – Karen James
Grew up in the church, saved at 11 and surrounded by Christians all my life, however, nothing prepared me for what life had in store. No Sunday School Lesson, no Church Sermon, no Bible Study, no Scripture Reading or no Lecture could have prepared me for the events that confronted me over the course of my life and the trials that I have faced.
Abandoned by my father at 7 after witnessing years of domestic violence; I struggled with an inferiority complex and was haunted with suicidal thoughts. Acquainted with poverty; I mingled with depression and conversed with hunger. A hand me down from a stranger was a welcomed gesture, a dried coconut from a nearby shed or a green mango from a neighbour’s tree – lifesavers for me. Oh how I wished people were more selfless, more willing to share basic necessities. I craved a look of approval, a smile, a hug. I almost let go… but for the grace of God.
As a young teenager, accused as a scarlet women, judged and sentenced to the desert of isolation by fellow Christians whom I emulated. Feeling like a worm under a stone I reached out for help but no one reached out to me; someone to take me under their wings, anyone to say “I know what you are going through”, or, “I have been there my child”. I almost let go…. but for the grace of God.
When the brutish hand of injustice and discrimination dealt with me; I was humiliated and oppressed, treated like a person with no self-worth. For years I prayed for deliverance. Feeling like God had forgotten me. Battling the harmful effects of workplace stress; panic attacks, anxieties, depression, chronic fatigue and insomnia. I waited for someone to tell me that my night will pass; that a new day will break, but no one came, no told me anything. I felt like I was the only person in my community that had met that fate. I almost let go…. but for the grace of God.
A young wife faced with infertility and the possibility that I may never have a child. Pressured by the people around me to prove that I am fertile; feeling powerless; secretly I groaned for someone to tell me what to do, for someone to tell me what they did, for someone to tell me anything is possible but no one did, no one had the courage to break the deafening silence, no one had the zeal to say to me “let’s pray about this”. I almost let go…. but for the grace of God.
Battered, bruised and rejected by my husband and father of my child; feeling worthless and insufficient. Living in a bubble of self-pity; cornered by life events, lonely from isolation, embarrassed to tell anyone what I am going through. People who knew my circumstance talked to everyone else about it except to me. Those who did not know wanted to be like me. I almost let go…. but for the grace of God.
I know oh too well what it is like to walk through pits of fiery trials and tribulations alone. To wonder if God has turned away from me or even if my circumstance is isolated and as a result of some form of sin that I have committed. I know what it is like to groan for someone who can identify with me and my circumstance. Someone I can strip off my cover of pretends and show my vulnerability, someone I can wail with and be inspired by their experience of trial and triumph.
Convinced that there must be a more practical approach to delivering the gospel; I answered the call of God, stripped myself of every pride, shame and embarrassment associated with my past and presented myself as a witness of the gospel in action – God’s divine process of transformation. I penned many of my personal experiences of fiery trials in the most original and transparent version and took them to the world.
Founded in 2013, Fiery Proof Women’s Ministry (www.fieryproofwomen) creates an avenue for ordinary women of God, to testify of our extraordinary faith and of our experiences of fiery trials and triumphs. We are a group of Godly women, friends of Jesus Christ our Lord; with personal faith stimulating experiences which have moulded us into witnesses of His sovereignty.
Through this ministry, we proclaim that anything that brings you closer to Jesus is good for you. We take a leading role in building awareness that the challenges we face do not define who we are. We women can lead wholesome, rewarding lives despite great difficulties. We stand firm on the belief that anything God through His divine purpose has brought us to, He can bring us through.
We recognize the need for women to help women; for women to inspire women, for women to strengthen women, for women to motivate women. Women who have conquered great challenges do not live defeated lives; we are strong spirited people having persevered in the face of great sufferings. We are women of incredible faith; testaments of God’s unfailing grace and favours.
The aim of Fiery Proof Women’s Ministry is to empower our mothers, our sisters, our daughters, our peers, to trust God through trials and become testaments of His miraculous transformation and to spread the gospel in its entirety – Spiritual, Emotional and Physical.
Stripped of all the theological debates and boiled down to its raw essence, Christianity and Christians are judged by two actions: how much we love God and how well we demonstrate that by loving our neighbour. This is Christianity in a nutshell.
To love our neighbours as ourselves encompasses a balance in our concerns for others – spiritual, physical and mental. Having been lifted out of the depth of poverty, emotional abuse and spiritual abandonment I stand firmly on the belief that no woman, no girl, no one should suffer alone. Suffer we must, for some cause, at some point but not alone!
***************
God allows his peculiar children to be tested and tried through various forms of fiery trials that we may become living proof of his enabling grace. If you’ve been through deep waters of disappointments, great sorrows of loss and distress, floods of sicknesses and diseases, fires of abuse and valleys of emotional turmoil; if none of those experiences have harmed you. If you were not drowned by the waters, swept away by the floods, consumed by the fires or lost in the valleys but through God’s enabling grace you were transformed into fiery proof vessels; then be practical, be original, be transparent, be impactful – BE THE GOSPEL IN ACTION.
The most creative way of spreading the gospel is by Walking the Talk!
An avid Christian and shrewd professional, Karen James prides herself in her personal relationship with Jesus and her passion for people along with her organisational excellence. She is the founder of Fiery Proof Women’s ministry, a human resource consultant trainer and motivator who has risen to the distinction in her community by being a self-developer and motivator. She is a pioneer who leads by example in all aspects of her life and a devoted toastmaster.